Climbing the beautiful Rocky Mountains, surviving almost 60 inches of annual snow and worshipping John Elway could be the keys to solving America’s obesity epidemic.

Just look at the residents of Colorado, the least-obese state in America, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC calculated obesity rate – the percentage of obese citizens relative to the total population – for all 50 states. Colorado had the fewest obese residents – only 20.5 percent.

The least obese state shouldn’t come as much of a surprise – Colorado has earned that distinction for the past decade – but a close race for the most-obese state ended with a new number one for the first time in eight years.

The most obese state in America had an obesity rate of 34.7 percent. The national average was only 28.1 percent.

Most of the states with rates higher than the national average were found in the Southeast and Midwest. Similar to the ranking of the worst states for a long life, West Virginia was the only state among the top five most-obese states that was not in the Southeast.

But location wasn’t the only factor associated with obesity rates – income also plated a role. More than 31 percent of adults with annual incomes under $25,000 were obese, according to research from the F as in Fat project.